In June 2011 the Prime Minister José Sócrates faced a new election fight. With the country plunged in a deep economic crisis, Sócrates travelled from North to South looking for votes from Portuguese electors. The final result meant the Socialist leader’s defeat and afterwards his withdrawal from political life. MC

The Nossa Senhora dos Anjos Rehabilitation Center promotes social integration for people with recent blindness and low vision. Located in Lisbon, Portugal, the center welcomes people from the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries, and gives back the autonomy they need to live. Patients live together for three months and their days are fully scheduled with physical and recreational activities, and psychological support to improve their social independence. They also re-learn basic skills like reading, walking, cooking and taking care of their own image.  Most patients lost their sight gradually, but there are also cases of medical errors and accidents that eventually caused blindness. Many who seek this support admit to having lost the will to live and to have ended up isolated from society until they found this center. MC

The village of Reguengo do Alviela, in the center of Portugal, becomes annually an island during the winter period. The Tagus River waters rise, causing floods and affecting the daily lives of its locals. Some decide to leave the village during that time, but others refuse to abandon their houses, as the water levels rise and may threaten their belongings.The firefighters secure assistance to the populations by realizing innumerous trips to fulfil the needs of the locals. MC

Talibe is an Arabic term for disciple.Qur’ānic schools known as Daaras are no more than fragile buildings where atrocities are committed to children between 5 and 15 years old who are further forced to beg in the streets for more than 8 hours a day.The number of Talibés is increasing. In the Dakar region alone, more than 30,000 boys are being put through this torturous reality. Senegal AND Guinea-Bissau. May/June 2015. MC

The heart of the city became its own shame. The Pasig river, once Manila’s economic centre, has been the mirror of a highly unequal society – 21,6% of the population lives below the poverty line in a daily struggle against extreme pollution. Desperate for any kind of work, many Filipinos sought the city for a livelihood. Yet, in the downfall of their dreams many ended up living in illegal settlements on the river banks.  Domestic waste transformed the Pasig in an open sewer. Neglected for too long, the river was declared biologically dead in the 1990s. Today, fragile lives take shelter in fragile shacks – mere wooden sticks pitched above extremely polluted waters. The Pasig is amongst the top 20 most polluted rivers in the world.